Team
Sitemap Team - Players NPC Team of Lackeys/Minions *See also Game_Mechanisms *See also Player_Activities *See also BioShock_MMORPG_Programming --- --- --- --- --- In the MMORPG, due to the current nature of gaming, a Player can have difficulties getting other Players to join them in cooperative gameplay. 'Team' NPCs would exist in the MMORPG to 'bulk up' the Player's capabilities by having assistance on their expeditions into Rapture's various hostile environments. This also serves for diversification/organization of skills via 'management' of semi-autonomous NPC characters who can accompany the player - who also carry out various automatic Tasks to alleviate certain tedious game activities (leaving the Player more freedom to do interesting things). This group of NPCs associated with the Player would be their "Team". --- --- --- Splicers ARE Coming 'Out of the Woodwork' to Ambush You : Advantage of having a 'Team' of NPCs as you personal lackeys, is that they can spot things, warn you, and semi-intelligently 'hold them off' for a while when you were trying to solve some problem/puzzle (or to have time to formulate strategy and/or issue tactical orders). How many games have you found where the 'sidekicks' get in the way more than they Help? And you (if allowed) often found it simpler to 'leave them behind' to take on the Enemy Hordes single-handed to get the job done ?? The 'Elizabeth' thing in Infinite BS was touted much, but her keeping distance and periodically tossing you 'loot' is hardly any achievement to crow about. All the Choreographed 'scenes' and canned interactions at locations involving her - there is NOTHING new about that. (( '' Her being INVULNERABLE indicated they could not make her versatile enough in the AI scripting to handle even basic combat situations. '' )) Expanding drastically upon anything you've seen so far in games (by magnitudes for 'assistant' sidekick NPCs) is what I am HERE talking about. --- --- --- Coordinating NPC Teams : One advance of this game is having lackeys/minion NPCs to assist the Player in various activities (many tedious mundane and unexciting). In Adventuring, they increase the Player's "party" (these days some MMORPGs are moving away from group playing, and adding NPC assist for role filling) It does require quick reaction (even if issuing orders) or being more automatic/reflexive with prespecified roles and actions for various situations (it is pretty hard to coordinate yourself plus NPCs and issue detailed orders for complicated situations - and small areas mean you will 'be in the thick of it' and rarely can 'lead from the rear'). Much of it has to do with having people in the right place (and NOT in the wrong place when things start happening) First lesson will probably be how to coordinate a 'point man' ..... Two Players Adventuring, each having NPC 'followers' - the NPCs have to be coordinated with different Players issuing orders (potentially conflicting) for their different tactical preferences. Consider that this game allows 'Friendly Fire' injuries/damage (NPCs will try to avoid , as they would even with a single player). But it gets more hectic with even more bodies around. Just as in real combat, actions get nullified rather than risk hitting a 'Friendly'. Of course the Splicers will be constrained the same way (AND NO they arent all simply insane and dont care -- all those ones are long dead). --- --- --- Group Dynamics Within the Players NPC 'Team' ' : Different Team members may offer (make available) different strategies and tactics (besides any specialty abilities they have). You have different 'mixes' of NPCs selected for different Missions (there's a limitation ramp of how many you can manage at once). More complex/challenging Missions can take more personnel. Different tasks - they are also used not just for Missions, but also routine things like Fabrication (crafting) and manufacturing, Shop/Sales/Clearinghouse operations, Information gathering and research, Residence construction/improvements, Transporting Loot, Security, etc ... They would have personality to set them apart, and develop alongside your Avatar. You invest in them like you would upgrades to any game tool (They enable and increase success for certain Mission types). There would be significant involvement between the Player and these NPCs. You are expected to help injured members of your NPC "Team", and failing to do so many cause the others to leave your employment (seriously, if you can't help your employees survive, what kind of employer are you ?). Automatic behaviors - NPCs will 'spot' things of interest and alert you to them, or defend you (and themselves) during an attack (without being prompted or micro-managed). It Won't be the "Hey Booker here catch!!!" or "Oh, I Can Pick This Lock!!!" lameness ( SERIOUSLY, THAT was touted as some new achievement in AI ???? ) SO a "Mind of their Own" to some extent (there are some very talented behavior AI programmers out there who might like a challenge). Having consistency is a problem here - if you have one NPC who is very well done (versatile and interactively useful), and others that are blatant lifeless robots it will be pretty obvious. The Template system would help some, but it would still be a big project in itself to get it done well. - You might have 'Temporary' Team NPCs which would allow well tailored *special* interactions -- like having a 'Comedy Relief' character who goes through their set of (situation appropriate) Antics and odd/unique activities, but then who would otherwise get quite tiresome with even a little repetition and hence them being Temporary/transitory NPC characters. There would also be Hirelings/Contractors for special tasks (kept longer than add-on NPCs you get within Missions), but when once done/served their purpose can leave. You would develop a number of 'useful' NPC people who you can call on for their special abilities. --- --- --- ' A 'Team' NPC Behavior AI Scripting System : ''' Optional scripting to improve control AI of NPCs. Will be Player Created and Distributed : The MMORPG's Players have the '''Time to continue to create and improve these Scripts in these tiems when Game Companies are loath to spend any additional monies on a game. This idea Taps into all that existing Player Talent which dwarfs what's available at any Game Company ... IT Can be done in small increments - much simpler to add than a 'mod' level' as a contribution. Generally Done by programming 'experts', but usable by multitudes of Players (and suggestions of improvements can come from all). The Asset Creation Community would have MANY online tutorials/examples, advice, critiques and vetting (the full collaboration mechanism). The scripting system would have many basic program modules/functions (company created) to access/process in-game data/info (this is 'scripting' and not 'programming' - low level operations are done by pre-supplied efficient code). I can foresee a visual desktop like symbolic interface where 'AI modules' are installed and activated to facilitate player use. A player should be able to EASILY install the scripted logic and see for themselves how well it works (and be able to uninstall it as easily if they don't like what they see). Test/Debugging on Test Servers would be part of the system. Testing arena's with all kinds of scenarios to 'tryout' the new AI would be provided, with the player able to setup a situation they want to see 'handled' (the same mechanism would be used by the AI developers while they are perfecting their logic). --- --- --- Two Forms : * Client Plug-ins - AI runs on Player's Client to direct NPCs while player is online -- uses the greater CPU resources (offloaded from servers) - and can act in real-time (like to do Team NPC combat logic). Players may leave their computers on to keep their 'Team' productive. Players could even monitor their 'client-controller' (game machine) remotely from another computer/tablet/handheld. Plug-ins are Task Specific - so players can install the plug-ins they need/prefer and not have to bother with all the others (some people like micro-managing specific things). * Server-side -- carries out more basic 'generalized' instructions that would keep the players 'Team' NPCs and other agents working at their defined Tasks while the Player is offline (moving about the City on Tasks that make the city actually LOOK like a city with people in it doing things). This player Scripted logic is more the prioritizing of standard tasks and to react to/handle results of those tasks (like retrying or doing a alternate solution, when trying to obtain certain resources). Simply getting ones 'Team' NPCs ahead of time to a convenient location for a 'live' activity can save alot of players play time. Similar scripts would be used for all the Server Run NPCs -- part of the expanding assets used to continually improve the game. There would already be many 'standard' scripts (Company provided) that keep all those independent NPCs moving and working in the City. Players could/will submit improvements to these. . The script logic is fully 'Visible' for review (so 'grief' scripts can't hide...). The Collaboration mechanism allows 'open source'-style improvement. Shareable/Distributable - will have reviews/explanations/feedback online -- basic tutorials would be standard requirement for publishing (and suggested 'testing' situations). 'Improvements' would have to include a description of what was actually improved and why..... A basic 'Task' script has control settings - usually limits and targets and other specifics. Having these easy to set (and understandable) would be part of the system (sliders and modal checkboxes usually are easier to understand). The Dialog-Tree mechanism could be used here to set modes/directives and even explain what the settings do (can be done as a multiple-choice form of 'Asking' the Player 'what to set' or what to get done). --- --- --- Lockpicking with Elizabeth - Your Team NPCs Not Quite so Automatic : They couldn't really restrict Lockpicking much in BS:Infinite because some backstory would be missing or whole areas they created which half the player might never see (and the game play-thru would be even shorter...). There were plenty of Lockpicks about if you played a Manic Magpie. In BS2 they actually had (via Hacking) some 'Ohhhh Noooos' risk and excitement with the game (active opponents) NOT play-freezing (as in BS1) while you tried to hack stuff. Learning to lockpick from a book -- so easy so much of the time, yet Elizabeth couldnt figure out her containment chamber's lock after years ???? (Sonic Screwdrivers hadnt been invented yet). In the MMORPG, you have varying methods of unlocking things, varying skills, varying consequences ("Hey Jocko, I wanted to salvage that expensive Genetic Lock you just smashed...") Most easy locks probably would already have been previous;y opened, and perhaps closed again intact after all the goodies were extracted from behind it. (Good detail Idea - part of the auto-generated grungification would be to have smashed locks/bashed open doors, patched locks and doors, etc,, to make it look like previous visitors had already done various things to newly generated game locations, and subsequent actions of Splicers occupying areas to so similar things as part of normal behaviors). A whole new range of booby traps and such (Splicers have had years to come up with these things to keep whats theirs theirs, from other Splicers...). Locks left intact might have been avoided by past visitors for a very good reason : * Rule #1 -- Make sure Water is not slowly leaking past the door seals, or on touch the door is NOT either very hot or cold as the Sea). * Rule #2 -- If scrawled on the door is 'the Skull and Crossbones', and the words "Keep Out and this means YOU!!", extra caution is probably required. * Rule #3 -- Don't destroy a door/lock if possible in trying to open it. You may want to be able to close/lock it later. --- --- --- Proscribed Solutions from AI : Here's a nifty idea of something to add to this game system : Player Hint/Advice which offers a short list of 'things to do' in a particular situation. Even better - if you click the offering, it gets carries out without having to work the fiddley controls. Not Quite as AUTOMATIC as having the Team NPCs 'just do things' autonomously. The programmed logic to interpret/digest the Current Situation is the HARD part, and then to offer an appropriate in-game solution. This could save the Player alot of "elbow grease" actions for routine game operations. Expansions would include similar order lists for your 'Team' NPCs. Semi random contents of the short list can steer the Player into doing unusual/less-obvious things (with amusing consequences). Priorities, Proficiencies and available Tools, as well as Situational Circumstances would be considered for the solution offerings. It is Desirable for this functionality's 'AI' to run ON your Client machine to offload the potentially heavy AI processing from the Game Servers. --- --- --- Idea - Loaning and Letting Other Players Play Your Team NPCs on Missions : One of the classic problems with MMORPG group activities is First : getting enough people all online at the same time, and Second : Getting them all to the same location without long waits/delays (Many MMORPG games now have an unrealistic teleport/gatewaying to facilitate their group activities). In this MMORPG, you take your Team NPCs with you much of the time, so they (warm bodies) will already be on hand to be 'possessed' by a Player. Some kind of reward would be made for such assistance -- maybe (at minimum) THEY earn (accelerated?) skill development experience for the time they serve - for themselves or one of their team NPCs) and/or some achievement that goes to enhancing their own Team other ways. Since Team NPCs are normally run by the Server or by the proposed Client-Driven Team AI, filling out the required full 'posse'/fellowship/raid group is less a problem (as long as the AI does a passable job for the NPCs still on automatic). With the possibility of renting out 'Expert' NPCs from your 'Team' to someone else, the owning Player may be able to/want to run the 'rental' NPC themselves (This could also help fill in for less than optimal NPC AI scripting for certain difficult 'expert' tasks). You will still have the problem of grouped Players 'not knowing what they are doing' or 'acting out' and intentionally messing things up Attention Whoring mental issues... -- So you have to 'vet' the other Players as always. Counter-Measures would have to be taken (in the game mechanics) to prevent 'griefer' type suiciding/sabotoge as a method used by those mentally-ill Players (Perhaps a systematic recording mechanism which submitted to GMs will lead to punishing the offender severely/blackball them/disempower their Avatar, burn down their house, ridicule them by putting them on dispaly in 'The Clinic' getting Electroshock Therapy, etc...). Now such surrogates don't get any Loot directly, so I suppose you could withhold any incentives (payment or development/achievement points) when the other Player messes around (This itself can be subject to abuse, so would need proper protections/enforcements built into the game mechanics). This all does not preclude a Player normally going on another Player's Mission with their Own Character Avatar, but some Players may take it as a challenge to try to run a more limited NPC character (or one with a different flavor mix from their own Avatar). Anyway, cooperative play adds greatly to these games, and facilitating it can't be a bad thing. --- --- --- --- --- . .